Overview
- An avalanche struck a three-person team on K6 on Wednesday, June 24, killing Guillaume “Gee” Pierrel at about 5,000 metres during an ascent.
- Reports differ on the two surviving climbers with a tour operator saying they were safe and helping bring Pierrel’s body to Camp I while the Alpine Club reported the pair had not returned to base camp.
- Local police, volunteer rescuers and the expedition operator have dispatched teams to recover the body and locate the teammates, and a helicopter evacuation has been delayed by high temperatures and difficult weather.
- Pierrel was a 42-year-old IFMGA mountain guide and acclaimed ski mountaineer known for steep first descents and international expeditions, which has drawn wide attention to the accident.
- K6 is a remote, highly technical 7,282-metre peak in the Masherbrum subrange where rescue work is often slowed by steep terrain, unstable conditions and scarce helicopter availability, factors that will shape next steps in the recovery and any further searches.